The Salt River Rafters kept themselves in the mix during week four of the Arizona Fall League, going 3-2 and sitting third in the overall standings, just one game back of first.
It was a strange little stretch for Salt River. The Rafters were involved in a 20-run outburst and a 20-run beating, they experienced both sides of shutouts, and a weather-shortened game still turned into another lopsided win. The week’s biggest individual performances again came from players already making noise for the Rafters, though none of the Twins prospects cracked the top tier of the league’s weekly standouts.
Kyle DeBarge kept doing what he’s been doing all fall: hitting. The infielder went 4-for-12 with three runs scored, his third homer, an RBI, a walk, two stolen bases and four strikeouts across three games, pushing his overall line to .358/.485/.604 with a 1.089 OPS. He picked up at least one hit in all three outings and moved around the diamond, starting one game each at second base, third base and center field.
His quietest game came in Tuesday’s shutout loss to Glendale, when he went 1-for-4 with three strikeouts. But he bounced right back in Wednesday’s 4-0 win over Scottsdale, where he was the only Rafters hitter with multiple hits.
He opened the fifth with a single, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on Jared Thomas’ single to make it 4-0. Later, he led off the ninth with another single, then swiped second and third before being left there.
DeBarge set the tone again on Halloween. He launched his third AFL homer in the top of the first inning to put Salt River ahead 1-0, then reached on an error in the third and scored on the next batter’s triple as the Rafters stretched the lead to 4-1 and never let it slip.
Yasser Mercedes got into only one game on the week, and it came in Monday’s 20-4 rout of the Surprise Saguaros. Batting third and playing center field, he reached base a few times but finished 0-for-3 with a run, a walk and a stolen base before being lifted in the seventh inning. He didn’t appear again the rest of the week.
Enrique Jimenez finally found some offense in his third week of action, going 2-for-8 with a triple and four RBI while striking out five times. His lone start came Monday as the designated hitter, when he batted ninth and delivered his first hits of the AFL season.
He singled in the seventh for an RBI and then cleared the bases with a triple in the eighth to help Salt River reach 20 runs. He also pinch hit twice later in the week, striking out in Thursday’s game and flying out to right field on Halloween.
On the pitching side, the week was rougher. Ross Dunn took the loss in Thursday’s blowout against Mesa, allowing six earned runs on six hits and two walks in 2 1/3 innings.
He worked through the first two frames cleanly enough, but the third inning unraveled after a groundout opened the frame. A single, a two-run homer, a walk, another single, a double and another walk ended his night with the Solar Sox in control.
Cleiber Maldonado also had a tough time in two appearances. He came in Monday with two outs in the eighth against Surprise, walked the bases loaded and allowed a run on a wild pitch before giving up an RBI double in the ninth.
He returned Thursday and inherited two runners in the fourth, both of whom scored on the first pitch he faced. He added a strikeout and a flyout to end that inning, but the fifth got away from him after a hit batter, a groundout and four straight singles.
Jake Murray’s only outing came on Halloween, when he entered against Surprise to start the sixth inning. He struck out one of the first two hitters he faced, but then walked four straight batters, allowing a run before the game was called one batter later.
Brian Zeldin worked twice and came away with a cleaner week. He struck out the final hitter Monday to finish off the win over Surprise, then closed out Friday’s game against Mesa with a scoreless ninth. That inning included a leadoff double and a throwing error, but he still escaped without allowing a run.
Cesar Lares did not pitch during the week after his last outing went poorly, and he’ll try to reset in week five. Jacob McCombs still has not appeared in a game for Salt River this season.
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